KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Creed Humphrey is set to become the highest-paid center in the NFL.

Humphrey and the Chiefs have come to terms on a four-year extension worth $72 million, with $50 million guaranteed. The deal was first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach was asked about the news on the broadcast of KC’s preseason finale (38 The Spot in Kansas City) Thursday evening.

“We’ll put pen to paper soon, but needless to say we’re extremely excited to continue Creed’s career here,” Veach said.

Veach previewed the deal in an interview with The Kansas City Star earlier this month, saying the team was working on deals for kicker Harrison Butker and Humphrey, and were interested in extending others, including guard Trey Smith and linebacker Nick Bolton.

“Every single one of these guys we would want nothing more than to extend and re-sign,” Veach said. “They’re beyond (having) something to prove.

“They all want close to or top-of-market deals. They all deserve it. You have to systematically work through it.”

Less than a week later, the Chiefs announced Butker’s new deal, for four years and $25.6 million.

Humphrey was next. He’s started all 51 regular-season games and 10 postseason games in his first three seasons. He was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie team in 2021, the Pro Bowl teams in 2022 and 2023 and was second team All-Pro in 2022.

Humphrey, 25, was a second-round draft pick (No. 63 overall) from Oklahoma in 2021

Over the course of the deal, Humphrey will average $18 million per season, making him the highest-paid center in history based on annual average. Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles, who retired after last season, was the highest paid at $14.25 million.

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